A Brave Kunoichi
by strawhat luffy krian
Summary: Naruto lands into trouble with the Akatsuki and it's up to Sakura and her group of friends to save him. However, this rescue mission brings Sakura a step closer to her feelings for Naruto.What will she decide?
1. Capture

**A Brave Kunoichi **** Full summary: **Naruto is finally captured by the Akatsuki and surprisingly enough, Sasuke is one of the members who captures him. Tsunade forms a team of shinobi to go rescue him and Naruto's pink-haired teammate, Haruno Sakura is put in charge of the rescue team. Will this mission bring Sakura to realize her true feelings for her blonde teammate?

**Main pairings: **Mostly Narusaku and a bit of Naruhina, but one-sided on Hinata's side. There will be a bit of Sasukarin later on.

**Timeline**: This begins immediately after the Invasion of Pain arc and before the events of the Kage Summit arc transpires.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the amazing anime and manga that is Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto exclusively.

**A/N:** I hope you all like this fanfic. This is my very first fanfic so I hope I will do okay in your eyes. Dedicated to the beautiful pairing that is NaruSaku and I created a situation where this time it's Sakura who saves Naruto;)

_Capture_

"In loving memory of Jiraiya(Beloved mentor and godparent)"-These were the words inscribed on Jiraiya's grave.

Uzumaki Naruto stood in front of the grave and looked at Konan's bouquet of flowers. He smiled, still finding it hard to believe that it was an Akatsuki member who gave him those flowers.

"Takes you back, doesn't it?"Naruto turned only surprised to meet himself face to face with Kisame. He is clearly surprised , seeing as though he was normally able to sense the chakra of those around him ever since mastering Sage Mode.

Naruto quickly forms two shadow clones and they each assist him in forming the Wind Release:Rasenshuriken.

Kisame is clearly amazed by the technique and complements Naruto for his bravery, unlike the last time they encountered each other. Naruto charges in, and Kisame asks him if he really thought that he would come to capture him alone, seeing as he single-handedly defeated Pain.

Just then, a sharp feeling passes through Naruto, nearly missing his heart. He turns back only to find himself staring into two red pupils with three tomoes in each of them.

-"S…...Sasuke?" Naruto could only manage to stutter. "But….why?"….Sasuke was dressed in the Akatsuki cloak.

"Oh, you didn't hear, "Ever since Itachi-san died, Leader took in Sasuke. He's my new partner. And when Leader asked him what he felt about capturing you, he only asked when he wanted it done. Yes, Naruto-kun. Sasuke is a member of the Akatsuki."

Blood trickled freely from Naruto's wound and dropped to the ground. Before he could pass out, he heard Sasuke say, "Is this really the ninja who took out Pain? He's no stronger than three years ago!"

Kisame then clearly said, "Don't underestimate him, Sasuke-san. You saw that technique too. It was the technique that took out Kakuzu, a very powerful Akatsuki member .Anyways, let's take him back to the hide-out. We'll have to keep him alive at least until we've captured the Eight-tails."

Sasuke nods and then both set off in the west, with Naruto's limp body hanging off of Samehada.

**A/N:** End of chapter one guys. Please review guys and let me know what you think about it.


	2. Reaction

**A/N**:Here is the second chapter guys. Sorry I was a bit late in updating this I've been busy with school since the new semester started recently, so I've been at school mostly. It may be a bit long so bear with me guysxD.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. It belongs to the great genius that is Masashi Kishimoto.

_Reaction_

Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, was in her office working on some documents that were supposed to be sent to the feudal lord concerning the recent attack on the village by Pain. After looking and reviewing the last areas of her work, she heaved a huge sigh before laying her head on her table. Shizune, her assistant, was helping out in the Konoha hospital treating the injured from the previous event, so she was all alone in the office.

However, this was not what caught her concern. She was actually happy to be away from the constant nagging of her assistant today. She noticed that a certain loud-mouthed blonde shinobi had not visited her office since the day began. Normally, he would have already barged into her office while asking her for a mission. She alluded it to the fact that he was probably resting at home now after the recent fight with Pain. She smiles to herself, thinking how that kid has come a long way now, from being called a trouble child to being recognized as the Hero of the Hidden Leaf.

-Sakura-

Haruno Sakura was walking along the streets of Konoha heading to Naruto's house. She was carrying a basket of apples and thought to herself that Naruto was probably stuffing his face with ramen at that moment and that he needed to take better care of himself, and that included is diet. Her thoughts strayed and she caught herself thinking of the way she hugged Naruto after he returned to the village. She blushed slightly, then she thought back to a scene two years ago when she hugged Sasuke in hospital and Naruto was watching them. "I wonder what made me hug him so suddenly. I never thought of myself ever doing that," she wonders.

All of a sudden she is cut off when she notices she had finally reached Naruto's mansion. She dismisses the thoughts then knocks on the door and wais, but Naruto didn't answer.

-Shizune-

Shizune was passing by the street where Naruto's house was, carrying herbs towards the hospital. She then heard knocking at Naruto's door, and looked up to see Sakura knocking. She is surprised to see that Naruto hadn't opened the door.

"Sakura! I think Naruto-kun' is still sleeping," Shizune called out to Sakura. Sakura looks at Shizune then all of a sudden she screams, "Ano baka! What kind of an idiot sleeps till the middle of the day?!" Sakura then proceeds to break down the door and Shizune sweat-dropped. " ." She thought to herself.

Sakura then proceeds to enter Naruto's untidy apartment, ready to punch him for keeping her waiting for that long. Shockingly enough, Naruto was not there, and it seemed like he had not been there since morning, evident from the cup of ramen noodles on the table which was opened but untouched ( Naruto decided to go see Jiraiya's grave first before having breakfast, so he left ramen unopened before going out so that he would eat when he came back)

_End of Chapter two _

**A/N:** That's where chapter two ends guys. It's a bit longer than chapter one but here I had Tsunade , Sakura and Shizune be introduced since they will play a huge part later on in the story. Please read and review.

Meanings

Ano baka-That idiot


	3. Alarm

**A/N: **Here's chapter three guys. Sorry I took a bit long in updating it but classes started so I might not be able to update this during the week, but I will try as much as possible to make free time during my weekends. So, here goes guys. Thanks for all those who followed and favorited my story it means a lot.;)

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Naruto. It belongs exclusively to Masashi Kishimoto. Thanks Kishi-sensei for the brilliance that is Naruto.

_Alarm_

Sakura stared at the empty room for a little before realizing that someone was calling out to her from a distance. "Sakura! Sakura!".Being brought out of her momentary daze, she then realizes it was Shizune who was calling out to her from outside the house. After one quick look-around to ensure that she was not making a mistake, she then goes to the entrance and Shizune asks her, "What's wrong? Isn't Naruto home?" Sakura then nods her head and Shizune's eyes went wide with astonishment. She knew the blonde knucklehead ninja was not an early bird so him being out of the house at that time seemed like an impossible concept to her.

Both kunoichi think about all possible places Naruto could be in at that time, and Sakura decides to check out Ichiraku Ramen plus the other rookie 9 in the village at the time. Shizune tells Sakura that she will go and check in Tsunade's office and ask whether Naruto had been there. ("Well, knowing him he probably went to ask Tsunade-sama for a mission to relieve his boredom," she thought.)

Sakura proceeds to Ichiraku Ramen and asks Teuchi if Naruto had passed by there earlier on. Teuchi tells her that he saw Naruto pass by outside his shop earlier but when he called out to him, he refused to come by and eat, saying that he had somewhere to go at that time but he promised that he would stop by later on during the day and hang out with Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. "Do you remember in which direction he was headed?" Sakura asked. "He was heading towards the forest outside the village" Teuchi answered. After a quick thank you, Sakura then headed to the forest.

_Shizune_

Shizune had just arrived at Tsunade's office and when she knocked outside the door, she heard someone mumble the words, "Come in" from the other side of the door. Realizing Tsunade was still in the office, she opened the door only to find Tsunade lying face first on her table, with two huge piles of paperwork on both sides of her face. Shizune sweat-dropped a little then thought, "I guess I should have helped her a bit with her work. Although this is quite a funny sight. " Snapping away from her stray thoughts, she remembered the reason she came to Tsunade's office.

"Umm, Tsunade-sama?"

"What is it, Shizune? You look like you're worried about something."

"Yes,actually…."Shizune proceeds to explain the entire situation to Tsunade, who looks quite puzzled by the end of the explanation.

"That's why I came to ask you if Naruto-kun has been here since morning. I thought he may have come here looking for a mission from you. He may have left the village already, or so I thought."

Tsunade stayed in deep thought a little before saying something. After two whole minutes of silence, which seemed like an hour to Shizune, she finally said,

"Well, that's just it Shizune. I haven't seen Naruto at all this morning. I was actually surprised that he didn't show up at my front door asking for a mission."

Shizune gets surprised a little, but then asks Tsunade, "So what do you think we should do, Tsunade-sama?" "For now, nothing. I know that kid won't get into any serious trouble while within the village, so let's wait for Sakura to get back before making any decisions. If she doesn't find him by the end of the day, we'll dispatch ANBU tomorrow to look for him. Is that okay?" Shizune the nods and smiles reassuredly, thinking that Tsunade may actually be right after all and there may be no need for them to panic. She then heads to the hospital and decides to wait for any news from Sakura while keeping herself busy.

_Sakura_

Sakura jumps from tree to tree looking for any sign of Naruto. As she was about to head deeper into the forest, she sees something that stole her attention. Towards a lone tree that didn't have many tall trees surrounding it, she saw a stone that had some scribbling on it. On the stone were scribblings of some kind, and on each of its sides was a kunai, which were connected by a wire strand running through each of them. Below the rock on the ground was a bouquet, and when she went in for a closer look, she saw that the flowers were made of paper, much like origami. She managed to read the scribbling on the rock ( which in case any of you have forgot, said, " In loving memory of Jiraiya .Beloved mentor and godparent.") Sakura then realized that this was a memorial stone made by Naruto to commemorate Jiraiya's death. She smiles to herself a little then realized that he must have not wanted anyone to learn about this, so he wanted this to be a sanctuary for him when he missed his master. "Oh Naruto,you…." She thought about him for a while but suddenly realized one major thing….Naruto was nowhere to be seen around the stone. She starts to worry more and more then as she turns to head deeper into the forest, she let out a small scream at what she saw on the ground a few feet away from the memorial stone. There was a trail of fresh blood that was on the ground a step away from Sakura's feet.

**A/N**: End of chapter three guys. I know it was a bit longer than both chapter 1 and 2 but I plan to make each chapter longer than its previous one. Enjoy the chapter and review guys.;)


	4. Decision

**A/N**: _Here is chapter 4 guys. Sorry for the late update I've been so busy with school work for the past two weeks that I've barely even gotten any time to update this chapter. As a tribute to my late update, I'm going to post two-three chapters this week so I hope you guys enjoy. Well, here goes nothing_

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippudden. It belongs strictly to Kishi-sensei._

_Decision_

Sakura stood there, transfixed to the ground, shocked by what she saw. There was a trail of fresh blood on the ground that lead a fair distance to the exit of the forest. Sakura followed the trail and noticed that the amount of blood lessened more and more as she approached the exit. She assumed that whoever had been injured had the wound close up by the time they had left the forest. It was then that she suddenly came up to a horrific conclusion. What if it was Naruto's blood? She clasped her hands over her mouth and tried shaking the negative thoughts out of her head. "That idiot wouldn't be injured by anything in this forest," She tried reassuring herself. Sakura then came to another conclusion; maybe it was the blood of an animal. However, she dismissed the idea as she doubted animals were careless with their meals this much. Unable to shake the negative thoughts out of her head completely, Sakura decided to pick some of the blood-stained grass and go have it examined at Konoha hospital in order to see if they could find a match for the unknown blood sample. She realized that panicking in that situation wouldn't do any good she might as well keep a cool head and tackle the situation rationally(Konoha Hospital had the blood samples of every citizen in Konoha)

Sakura arrived at the hospital and immediately went into the laboratory, not bothering to reply to the greetings of the people she passed by. She placed the sample of grass on the table, then quickly went to where the blood samples were stored, and looked under the column N for "Naruto Uzumaki." Hesitantly, she took his blood sample, while convincing herself in her mind that there was no way the blood was his. She looked at both samples of blood via microscope, then her eyes widened in surprise. She pinched herself to ensure she was not dreaming, and then looked at the two samples of blood again. After a third check, she slumped to the floor in defeat, while clutching her head in her hands. The blood samples matched.

"He may have cut himself across a tree branch," she thought. However, a second voice in her head replied, "Tree branch cuts himself don't leave that much blood on the ground." He may have been attacked by a wild animal," she thought again. Logic answered her again, "This is the Naruto who took down the Akatsuki leader. I doubt a wild animal would as much as scratch him." "What if…..oh no, please don't let it be so…." She thought. "Yeap, the little runt may be in danger, or more certainly, he was kidnapped," the voice in her head told her again. Sakura tried shutting out the voice in her head while thinking of other possible scenarios, but all were unlikely as the next. Teary-eyed, she came to a painful conclusion, Naruto had been kidnapped.

She then realized where she had to go next: Tsunade's office. Grabbing the grass sample and Naruto's blood sample and putting them in her pocket, she dashed out of the hospital and headed for Tsunade's office.

_Tsunade's office_

Tsunade was at her desk on tapping the desk with her finger. Tonton was sleeping on the floor next to her. She was waiting for news on Naruto from either Sakura or Shizune. At this point she would even be glad if the blonde just strode into her office at that moment and it turned out to be a big joke. Worry gnawed at her heart with each passing second, and seeing the sun setting across the mountains did less to diminish her worries. The door to her office flew open at that very instant she was looking at the sun, and before she could register what was going on, a brush of pink hair landed in front of her desk at that instant. There were tears streaming down her face and Tsunade knew immediately that something terrible had happened. Sakura placed the grass sample and Naruto's blood sample on Tsunade's desk, then she proceeded to explain the entire situation to Tsunade. Her speech was stammered since she was talking while crying and Tsunade didn't do anything to calm down her student, herself being on the verge of tears.

After Sakura had finished explaining, Tsunade wore a shocked look on her face. She looked at Sakura a little then told her to get Shizune from the hospital. Sakura proceeded to ask why, and then Tsunade told her that they were going to go and rescue Naruto from whatever trouble he was in, but first they needed to make sure that they weren't overreacting so they would first scout the area outside the village. For this they needed the ANBU. Sakura nods curtly then proceeds to head to the hospital.

_Naruto_

A body was dumped on the ground then a deep voice said," Mission accomplished." A man with a spiral mask then appeared from the shadows and said, "Kisame,I told you not to handle the Jinchuuriki too roughly or else he may end up dying before we extract the Nine-Tails from him.""He never listens Tobi, you know that," a third voice appeared from an aloe-like creature that appeared from the ground."However, good work on capturing the Nine-Tails. Finally Uzumaki Naruto is in our hands. All that's left is capturing the Eight-Tails then Project Tsuki no Me will be finally starting," said the spiral-masked man again. Sasuke then spoke up for the first time since getting back to the Akatsuki's base, "So, where will we put the body in the meantime. I hardly think this is an appropriate place for putting Naruto's body if we need it for extraction later." "Take it to the cave further within. There are chakra chains there, make sure you bind him with them. We don't want him trying to escape later on with his petty jutsu," answered Tobi. Sasuke then proceeded to take Naruto's cold body and move to the designated area within the hideout, the other three Akatsuki members watching him intently.

_End_

**A/N**: Well, there's chapter 4 guys. I finally brought back our blonde hero and Sasuke-kun, along with the other Akatsuki members, since they will all play an important role later on. About the part where Sakura goes to the hospital to confirm the unidentified blood, I just thought that it would be logical to have all the blood samples of the Konoha citizens in the hospital, considering that it is a small village after all. Tsunade's reaction when she hears the news about Naruto from Sakura was really Hokage-like in my opinion, since she didn't just jump to conclusions and made the most rational decision at the moment. Enjoy guys.;)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Chapter 5 is done and done! Finally! It took a while but its finally ready guys;) I did promise that I would update two-three chapters this week, and I never go back on my word. That's my nindo ;) I hope you guys like it. In this chapter, I'll introduce the rest of Sasuke's team and Konoha 11, plus the quest to save Naruto grows stronger with this chapter, especially for our pink-haired kunoichi. Either way, before too many spoilers, here goes Chapter 5.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei.

_Rescue_

_Akatsuki hideout_

Sasuke headed deeper into the cave going to the designated area to put Naruto's body as he was instructed by Tobi. He looked at the blonde shinobi draped over his shoulder, while thinking to himself, "Naruto, what have you been doing since that time at Orochimaru's hideout. Your lack of decent skills is what led to your capture today. If only you'd have been stronger, then you would have provided a decent fight today. If only…." Suddenly, a pair of smooth hands ran over Sasuke's back, cutting his train of thoughts, and he was suddenly held in a tight embrace. "Is that you, Karin?" Sasuke asked. A red-haired girl appeared from the front saying, "S-a-s-u-k-e…..I've been so lonely without you here. These other guys are no fun at all." Sasuke then gave a huge sigh then said, "I'm quite busy at the moment. Let me carry this body to the cave in peace, please." Karin sneered a little then a huge laugh was heard, then a voice said, "See Karin, you're always getting in Sasuke's way. I told you to stop drooling over him all the time, you…." A pool of water suddenly appeared from the ground before materializing into human form and before the new person could finish his sentence, Karin(having stopped embracing Sasuke) punched him and he went back into his fluid form. "Shut up Suigetsu! You damn water boy," Karin shouted. Suigetsu materialized a few feet away from Sasuke and Karin then stuck out his tongue at Karin. Karin screamed again and before she could go and punch him again, another voice was heard, "That's enough you two. Sasuke needs to head further into the hideout. Or else that Jinchuuriki will come to." This time a man appeared having a bird on his shoulder. "Jugo,huh?" Sasuke said. "Seems like you handled the job just fine without us, Sasuke." Jugo spoke up again." Yeah, he wasn't much of a threat. He won't be coming to for a while since I injected some of my lightning chakra into his body when I attacked him. His body can't even feel anything right now due to the numbness." Sasuke replied. "KYAA! Sasuke you're so cool!" Karin shouted, "But I wanted to come along too," she pouted. " What for? You would have been in the way," Suigetsu jeered at her. "Suigetsu-teme!" Karin proceeded to chase after him, with Sasuke and Jugo right behind them heading for the cave. Before a long while the four of them reached an area with a lot of huge pillars, all with chains hanging from the ends of the pillars. Sasuke proceeded to chain up Naruto in the furthest pillar from the entrance to the cave, then after making sure he was properly bound, he left the area, his team following closely behind him.

_Konoha_

Yamanaka Ino was arranging the flowers outside her shop, which had recently been repaired following the skirmish with Pain. She took a yellow rose and sniffed it, before donning a smile on her face and mentally reminding herself to thank Naruto personally later on for his good work. She was then hit by a sudden gust of wind, which caused her to lose her balance a little and fall on the ground. She looked up to see where the wind had come from, and saw a brush of pink hair dashing through the stalls in the village. She recognized it immediately as Sakura. "Sakura!" Ino shouted. Sakura stopped in her tracks then headed back to Ino," What is it, Ino-pig? I'm in a bit of a hurry here"Sakura told her blonde friend. "Wow, who ruined your day Billboard-brow?" Ino replied, but she then noticed the streaks of dried up tears on Sakura's face. Ino then realized that Sakura had been crying, and then proceeded to ask her," What's wrong Sakura? What happened?" Sakura then proceeded to tell Ino everything that had happened, including why she was in a hurry to go to where she was headed (the hospital), and when she finished her story, Ino's gasped and staggered backwards a bit before recollecting herself. "Oh my God. That's….." Sakura then cut her midway," Sorry Ino. I really need to run now. I'll talk to you later." She then dashes off towards the hospital, leaving Ino standing outside her shop. Ino dashes into the shop immediately, takes off her apron, then closes shop and heads in the opposite direction from where Sakura was headed. She was going to tell her teammates about what she had heard, knowing that Shikamaru and Chouji were going to be saddened over the somber news she had heard from Sakura. "Why?' She asked herself as she went through the streets of Konoha.

Sakura arrived at Konoha Hospital, and then stood outside the entrance a bit trying to regain her breath. After a minute or two, she steadied herself and proceeded to enter. To her good news however, Shizune was on the other side of the door, preparing to leave the hospital herself. She had finished helping out at the hospital and was about to head back to Tsunade's office to see if there was any news on Naruto. Sakura headed to Shizune then told her that Tsunade was calling for her. Immediately, the two kunoichi headed for Hokage Tower. Along the way, Sakura informed Shizune of all the information they had gathered so far. Shizune wore a grim expression for a bit, before shaking it off and reassuring Sakura that everything would be okay. Sakura then smiled a little and before long, the two were in front of the door to Tsunade's office.

The duo proceeded to enter the office, where they find Tsunade looking at a list of people from a piece of paper on her desk. Tsunade upon realizing that Sakura and Shizune were there, overturns the piece of paper and places it on her desk. "Good work, Sakura." She praises her student. Sakura grins a little then Tsunade continues, "Shizune, I'm sure Sakura has filled you in on the current situation," Shizune then nods, "I want you to go dispatch ANBU to each corner of the village and have them perform a thorough search of every area within a 50-mile radius of Konoha for Uzumaki Naruto. Have them return by the end of tomorrow with a report on whether they found him or not. That's all." Shizune then exits the office, leaving Sakura with Tsunade.

Sakura prepares to leave the office and wait for any news on Naruto the next day, but suddenly Tsunade calls her. "Wait, Sakura." Sakura then turns around, looking perplexed at Tsunade, "What is it, Tsunade-sama?" She asks. Tsunade then hands her the piece of paper that she had placed on her desk, "I don't want to sound like a pessisimist or anything, but there's a chance that we won't find Naruto anywhere within the village's boundaries. In case of that, I want you to go and give the following people orders to standby. You are to form a squad with these people which will have the objective of going to rescue Uzumaki Naruto from"….She paused a little in her sentence,.."The Akatsuki." At the mention of these last two words, Sakura gasped in horror and managed to stammer, "But…how? Why them?" Tsunade shook her head then answered, "Think about it Sakura. Which other group has been after Naruto for a while now? I tried thinking about other scenarioas, like possibly a hidden village or an unknown nation attacking him, but the probability of that is too low. Furthermore, it would be the best chance for them to strike back, seeing the state of the village at the moment." Sakura pondered over this a little, and suddenly everything made sense. Why didn't she think about them for an instant? Sakura then painfully nodded then before Tsunade could add anything else, she remarked, "You may be right Tsunade-sama. I really hope that isn't the case though, but I will inform these people right away." She then turned the door to the office, and when outside, she silently went through the list of people on that paper:

Kakashi. Rank-Jounin

Neji. Rank-Jounin

Shikamaru. Rank-Chuunin

Kiba. Rank-Chuunin

Sai. Rank-ANBU

Team Leader-Haruno Sakura. Rank-Chuunin

Upon seeing her name on the paper as team leader, Sakura was shocked and immediately went back into Tsunade's office. "Tsunade-sama….but why am I team leader?" She was honestly shocked by the decision. "I think Kakashi-sensei or Shikamaru would make a better leader than me. I barely have any leadership experience. And….." "Sakura!" She was suddenly cut off by Tsunade. "Don't think of yourself so little. I think you would make a decent team leader. Besides," at this point Tsunade was smiling, "who else would make team leader apart from you, his teammate?" Sakura tried opening her mouth to protest once more but this time words failed her. Tsunade's decision had been the best thing she had heard all day. Feeling better than she had been feeling a few hours earlier, she burst out of the office. "Now then, let's get to work." She said to herself before leaving the Hokage mansion.

_End_

**A/N:** Hope you enjoy it guys. I lengthened it a bit more in response to one of my reviewers mashina x shiiro, I hope this chapter absorbs you from the get-go ;) Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows guys! NaruSaku is the best!


	6. Departure

A/N: Sorry it took a bit longer than I expected to update this. I had three exams this week plus I have three more next week so I might not be able to update next week, but I will try my best to create time to update. I'm really sad that Naruto ended up with Hinata(NaruHina), idk it all feels like a huge slap to the face after all that NaruSaku development plus I feel like Kishi-sensei just did it to please the more popular NaruHina fandom, and it makes me feel like crying. But oh well, I will ship NaruSaku till I die, plus Naruto remains my favorite series of all time. Another reason I'm sad is because Chelsea from Akame Ga Kill died, and right as she was growing on me. I wanted her and Tatsumi to become an item (but Esdeath still remains my fav female on the show). Anyway, before I bore you with my long rants here's chapter 6 guys. Read and enjoy!( I edited Chapter 5 a little, so best read it first before proceeding with this)

_Departure_

Yugao Uzuki was young woman with straight, purple hair reaching down to her waist, and brown eyes, and a shade of red lipstick. Easily one of the most attractive females in Konoha, it was indeed odd how she hadn't managed to get married yet or even into a relationship after the death of her beloved Hayate. The death caught her by surprise, and she even left the ANBU, but later she decided against it because she realized that Hayate wouldn't want to see her in that sad state. Picking herself up anew, she decided to put her all into her ANBU duties, while rejecting any advances from her team members, who surprisingly enough were all male.

The recent events in the village did indeed shake her, seeing hers and Hayate's home getting destroyed within the blink of an eye. She was however one of the many villagers who was grateful to Uzumaki Naruto for bringing an end to the chaos in the village at the time. Therefore, when she was given the orders by Shizune to search for Naruto within the outskirts of the village and within the boundaries of The Land of Fire, she wondered why. Shizune told her that she didn't want to cause panic in the village by informing everyone that the village's jinchuuriki/hero was missing, so she told her to keep the mission between only her and her team. Yugao agreed and immediately went to the ANBU headquarters to gather her equipment plus get her team ready. Within an hour, she was ready and her team departed for the search.

"Nothing to report here, Captain," said Niai, a short, red-haired male, while landing next to his captain who was standing over a grassy area with a bird's eye view of the whole land of fire. Niai admired his captain to the point where he developed feelings for her, so he strived to give his all in his work too just like she did. "Good work, Nia," he beamed at these words, but his smile suddenly vanished after he noticed the stern look on his captain's face. She clearly was not happy by the news. "You made sure to search every area in the east, right?" Yugao asked him. He nodded, and then she made an unpleasant sound with her mouth. Yugao had split her three man team, assigning each of them to search within a cardinal direction from Konoha till the land of fire's boundaries, while she searched towards the north. Going beyond the boundaries would be considered trespassing of course, but with the rate at which things was going she was tempted to cross over and search into neighboring lands too. She had never once failed in tracking missing people and today was definitely going to be her first failure.

The arrival of the remaining two members of her team reignited the hope she had left, but after looking at the sullen looks on their face, she was dismayed again. "Captain,I…." started Youga, but she raised her hand in a motion to tell him not to speak further. Youga was a green-haired man in his late 20s, who had a knack for always pestering his captain during their team missions, but seeing the sullen look on her face even killed all the hopes he had of pestering her today as well. The last of the group, Shii, also kept quiet after looking at his captain's hand. After a moment of uncomfortable silence among the quartet, Yugao suddenly broke the silence by slapping herself on both her cheeks.

Surprised (Nia almost rushed to his captain immediately), the rest of the team looked at Yugao and she spoke up in a louder voice than normal, "We've searched the area in every nook and cranny, and there's honestly no sign of Uzumaki Naruto anywhere. Since we still have some time before the sun sets, let's do one more clean sweep of the entire premises, then if there is nothing, we will all rendezvous at the village gates. Make sure you get any clues, no matter how minuscule they may be. Team dismissed!" The three guys suddenly broke into wide smiles, and with a loud shout of "Yes,captain!", they all dispersed, now more determined than ever to do their mission and see it through to the end.

_Konoha,Hokage's office _

Tsunade had laid out scrolls and parchments all over the desk, plus underneath them was a map of the all the lands. She took one scroll and studied it intently, before returning it to the table and looking at the map intently. The door opened and Shizune entered the room, looking a bit exhausted. "Tsunade-sama, I finished the task, Yugao Uzuki…." But she was suddenly cut short after noticing the huge number of scrolls and on the table. Knowing Tsunade to be one who didn't like tons of paperwork all at once, this was definitely a first for her. "What are you doing, Tsunade-sama?"She asked her. Tsunade didn't reply. A bit irritated since she had been ignored twice, Shizune walked to the front of Tsunade's desk, her steps increasing in strength with each turn, she placed her hands firmly on Tsunade's table causing the table to shake a bit. "WHO IS IT AT THIS DAMN TIME I'M TRYING TO FOCUS…" an irritated Tsunade started, but she stopped after noticing it was Shizune who was there. "Oh, it's you Shizune. You're back already?" Finally happy that Tsunade was paying attention to her, Shizune replied, "Yes, Tsunade-sama. I assigned Yugao Uzuki and gave her the mission to search for Uzumaki Naruto. Hopefully, she'll be back with some good news at the end of the day. More to the current topic, what are YOU doing?" Tsunade looked at her table before looking up at Shizune again, "Oh, this? I'm looking at the reports from Team Kakashi and Team Gai after the incident with the Kazekage, plus Team Kakashi's report from the time with Orochimaru at the Heaven and Earth Bridge." Shizune looked puzzled by this but before she could ask anything, Tsunade continued, "Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki and placed in their hideout which Team Kakashi managed to infiltrate and rescue the Kazekage. From Orochimaru's hideout, Yamato was able to recover a scroll from one of the rooms and it happened to have information regarding the Akatsuki, including their hideouts and all their recent activity. I'm basically trying to locate all the Akatsuki hideouts and determine where they may be currently because I'm certain that's where Naruto may be. You understand me, Shizune?" Shizune dropped the puzzled expression on her face and nodded, finally understanding what Tsunade was trying to tell her. Then, she realized all of a sudden what Tsunade was implying subconsciously, before asking, "Wait, so you don't think Yugao and her team will find Naruto-kun?" Tsunade looked at Shizune a bit and suddenly her face became somber, before answering in a hesitant tone," I….I'm not sure what to think Shizune. Of course I want to believe that they will find him. But I'm starting to lose hope slowly. I'm just preparing for a worst case scenario so that I won't be caught off-guard again. Like the time with Jiraiya." A tear appeared in Tsunade's eye at the mention of her old teammate's name, but she quickly rubbed it away, although Shizune noticed it but chose not to speak of it. "Anyway, good timing. Now that you're here you can help me do this work. I've not made much progress really and I think you're better than me in such stuff," Tsunade admitted embarrassingly. Shizune smiled a little before moving closer to where Tsunade was and the two soon resumed work.

After an hour's work of looking at the map and cancelling out areas which seemed to no longer function as hideouts, Tsunade heaved a huge sigh of relief before placing herself on the desk. "Seems like we have only two areas which seem to be their current hideouts," Shizune started, "This area," she pointed at an area between Sunagakure and Takigakure, "and this area," she pointed to an area between Amegakure and Otokagure. Tsunade nodded her head before telling Shizune that they should wait till the following day before finalizing the decision to investigate the said areas, but then a knock was heard on the door. The two kunoichi in the room looked at each other, dread looming on their faces, before Tsunade finally spoke up, "Enter!" The door suddenly opened, to reveal…..

_ Haruno Sakura_

Sakura lay in her bed in her room, occasionally looking outside to see if there was anything new. Tsunade had told her to take the day off before they obtained any more news regarding Naruto, and she did just that, but soon came to regret her decision since she worried more of what had become of her blonde teammate. All of a sudden she found herself missing the company of her closest friend. Sure there was still Sai and Kakashi-sensei, but none of them could give them the feeling she got from being near Naruto. Around Naruto she felt…safe. Secure. Comfortable. Sure she was always bothered when he always asked to go out on dates with her, but she got over it as quickly as possible and in no way did it change her opinion of the blonde. In him she found a best friend, a companion and…something more. Sakura couldn't quite place her finger on it but she still couldn't find a reason why she hugged Naruto after his fight with Pain. She just assumed it to be the thought of losing her teammate to the Akatsuki leader, who had killed his master, was too scary to bear. She couldn't go through something as painful as what had happened with Sasuke again. And now it looked like it was happening again. Naruto was missing and she was seriously worried about what Tsunade had said earlier. If indeed the Akatsuki had kidnapped Naruto then she had to go save him. She resolved that she would save him and thought of all the times that he had come to her rescue in the past. He was always there for her and now he wasn't even in the village. It brought tears to her eyes but she immediately wiped them clean before getting off bed. "I can't waste time dawdling around here when he could be in trouble. I need to go meet up the rest of my team and tell them about the whole situation." She immediately put on her ninja wear and left the house, resolve blazing in her heart.

First off, she went to look for Kakashi-sensei. He wasn't really that difficult to miss since she knew that he had three favorite places to be in whilst not on duty. One, his house. Since it was the nearest place to look in she made a quick dash to Kakashi-sensei's house. She knocked on the door but there was no reply. It wasn't really in Kakashi's habit to sleep in during the day so Sakura dismissed the idea of him being asleep. She made a dash for the next area. Two, the bench under the tree near the park where he usually sits reading his perverted books. Sakura shrugged at the thought of finding him on the bench reading Icha-Icha tactics, but her thoughts were cut off since he wasn't in the vicinity of the park. She then made a quick run for the third area where she thought Kakashi would be in. Third, the memorial stone in the training field where Kakashi spent most of his time standing over the grave of his former teammates, Obito and Rin. Surely enough, Sakura found him standing there with his hands in his pockets in a serious manner. "The third time's a charm I guess," she told herself in her mind. She called out to her teacher as she approached the stone, and Kakashi looked up at her. Clearly surprised, since he didn't expect one of his students to come see him at that place, he smiled at her, "Yo, Sakura. What's up?" Sakura came at an abrupt halt in front of him, and Kakashi noticed that she wasn't smiling. He asked her what was wrong, and Sakura proceeded to explain everything that had transpired from the moment she found Naruto was not in his apartment and the decision with Tsunade.

Once she finished, Kakashi was surprised, though it wasn't easy to tell since his mask covered most of his face, and over the years his team had learned to learn his expressions from his eye movements. He began thinking over the matter, and then he told Sakura to go inform the rest of the teammates she was assigned to. "What about you Sensei? What are you going to do?" she asked him. "I'm going to go to the hokage's office. I need to confirm something with Tsunade first." Sakura agreed, before dashing off to look for Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru and Sai. Kiba was with Hinata and Shino so she had to call him aside to inform him about the news. Kiba almost yelled in surprise when he heard about it and Sakura had to stomp on his foot to avoid him alerting his teammates who were just nearby. After Sakura threatened to beat him up if he told Hinata and Shino about it, she left after she got a favourable reply from Kiba, who was rubbing his sore foot.

She easily found Shikamaru, who was resting on top of the rooftop of his family's house. Thank God she had run into Ino the previous day and told her what happened, she thought, since Shikamaru understood what she had come to tell him. Apparently, Ino had told Shikamaru and Chouji about what Sakura told her, Shikamaru explained to Sakura. Sakura smiled a little since her workload had been reduced, so she just proceeded to tell Shikamaru that he was in her team with her as the leader. Shikamaru made an inward leap for joy, since he did not feel like being the leader of another rescue squad, especially after the last one that failed with Sasuke.

Neji was in the Hyuuga household training in the fields alone when Sakura found him. She explained the situation to Neji as quickly as possible without missing any important details, and Neji was shocked. He asked Sakura to confirm if what she had said was true, and seeing no other reaction from Sakura, he immediately wanted to go and tell Hinata the news. However, Sakura stopped him and told him to keep it a secret from Hinata, since only members of the rescue squad were supposed to know about the mission, and inwardly,Sakura found out recently that Hinata was in love with Naruto, so she knew that Hinata would be devastated if she found out about Naruto. Neji understood and decided to prepare himself in case they were to be called any moment. "Poor Hinata-sama," Neji thought to himself as he witnessed Sakura leaving the compound. "She would be so devastated by the news if she heard about it."

Sai was outside his house drawing his compound on portraits he had bought for himself, and was just about to complete the last one when he saw Sakura standing outside his compound, looking really tired and exhausted. Puzzled, he placed his paint brush on the ground before standing up and going to meet Sakura. "Sakura-san,what a pleasure to have you here. To what do I owe this visit?" He asked Sakura. Sakura, between heavy breaths, proceeded to explain the whole situation to Sai. Sai was as shocked as the other members of the team, Sakura noted, but luckily he didn't panic like Kiba and Neji did, and instead he reassured Sakura that Naruto was "an idiot who wouldn't die even if he was killed, "so he would be fine wherever he was. Sakura smiled a little and thanked Sai before telling him to get ready to be called upon any time. After witnessing Sai nod to her, she left his home and set for home, actually happy that she had managed to do something small for Naruto, even if she hoped that it wouldn't come to the point of going to rescue him. Satisfied, she entered the house and set off for her room to prepare herself too.

_Tsunade's office_

Yugao stood at the entrance to the Hokage's office, with her entire team behind her. Shizune at once noticed that none of them carried anything in their hands, or on their backs, meaning that they couldn't even find Naruto or a trace of him. Tsunade seemed to have noticed the same thing, and Yugao couldn't even bear to look at Tsunade face to face. Nonetheless, Tsunade asked her for a report, and Yugao started, "Yes, Hokage-sama. We searched all the areas within the land of fire's borders, and we weren't able to find even a single trace of Uzumaki Naruto. Therefore, we believe that he must be in an area outside this nation's borders and possibly, he was kidnapped." After Yugao finished her report, Tsunade lowered looked down on her desk before a voice cut her off, "So it's exactly as you feared, Hokage-sama." Startled, she looked up and saw Kakashi standing outside her office next to Yugao( in front of Yugao's teammates as well). Kakashi excused himself before entering the office. "Sakura told me about the situation. I think we may have to go and rescue Naruto from the Akatsuki. Unbelievable as it may seem, I think that's the only possible answer left as to his whereabouts," Kakashi concluded. Tsunade looked up at him then said," I'm glad you're here, Kakashi. Good call. But the situation isn't as simple as it seems. Even if the Akatsuki have indeed captured Naruto, we have only two possible leads of their hideouts. Therefore, I'm going to have to form two teams to check out the two hideouts. Team one, which is the team where Sakura and you are in, will go and check out the hideout in the area between Sunagakure and Takigakure, and," she then placed a piece of paper on the table, which Kakashi proceeded to pick up and read from the following names:

Might Guy. Rank-Jounin

Aburame Shino. Rank-Chuunin

Hyuuga Hinata. Rank-Chuunin

Yamanaka Ino. Rank-Chuunin

Tsunade waited for Kakashi to skim through the paper a little before continuing, "Team two will check out the second hideout, the one between Amegakure and Otokagure. Hatake Kakashi, go and inform the members of both teams to mobilize immediately, since they will be departing at the dawn of break tomorrow. Dismissed!" Kakashi nodded at once then proceeded to leave the Hoakge's office, leaving her, Shizune and the ANBU there. Once Kakashi had left, Tsunade turned to Yugao. "Good work, Yugao Uzuki! You can leave with your team now. You did great," Tsunade remarked, before Yugao looked up and saw Tsunade smiling, which caused her to smile too before saying, "Hai, Tsunade-sama!" then leaving the office together with her men. Tsunade then looked at Shizune, who smiled at her and told her that the two teams would definitely rescue Naruto. Tsunade then thanked her for her support and good work that day, before proceeding to leave the office with her.

_The next morning_

Screams were heard at the front gates of Konoha at the break of dawn, and indeed there were too many surprises in one moment for most of the people who were meeting up there.

_End_

A/N: Well, there's Chapter 6 guys. I feel like I've really gone all out with this one, so I hope you guys will enjoy it. Also, can any of you guess why there are screams at the front gates of the village that early in the morning? XD .The truth can be quite shocking sometimes, and I will show you guys why in the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites.


	7. Surprise

**A/N: **Hey guys, sorry I took a bit longer to update chapter 7. I've been so busy with school of late since there are still lots of exams still remaining and I'm starting my final exams in two weeks so I probably won't get as much time to update. I hope you all understand. Thanks for all the follows, reviews and favorites. Here goes Chapter 7.

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did NaruSaku would have become canon, they would have a beautiful son called Shinachiku, and that poor excuse of a movie called The Last wouldn't even be on my mind.

_Surprise Encounters_

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?" A huge scream was heard at the front of the Konoha gate at 6 in the morning. Izumo and Kotetsu, the two gate-keepers who were posted there by the Hokage, were startled out of their states of half-slumber, and stirred up. "Who is it at this time of the day? Kotetsu asked no one in particular. "I don't know who it is, but they are gonna pay for ruining my sleep," Izumo growled. Getting up from his resting place, he shouted, "COULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP DON'T YOU SEE WE ARE TRYING TO GET SOME REST HERE BUT IF YOU COULD BOTHER TAKING SHIFTS FOR US WE'D BE HELLA GRATEFUL- He stopped halfway after noticing all the glares that were on him now. Standing right in front of him were all the Konoha 11(he remembered that Sasuke was still rogue)- all dressed in their official wear fully equipped with their standard equipment.

After ignoring what seemed to be a nuisance to them, the chuunin stared at each other again with expressions of shock on their face. Izumo sank back into his seat, causing Kotetsu to chuckle a little.

"Forehead!" What are you doing here?" Ino started.

"That's my line, Ino-Pig!" Sakura countered.

"Neji nii-san! But why?" Hinata gasped.

"And you, Hinata- Sama! What are you doing here?" Neji demanded, his voice somewhat rose higher than normal. Anyone could tell that he was concerned for his cousin, even if he had a really unique way of showing it.

"Man, I didn't expect things to turn out like this. How troublesome," Shikamaru remarked.

"Well well, this is quite the surprise. I read in a book once people react this way when they are met by completely unexpected circumstances. I guess the book was right," Sai nodded.

Before anyone else could say anything, Sakura immediately shouted, "Everyone, shut up! (This literally scared everyone, even Neji sweat-dropped a little and Lee almost jumped out of his skin) I guess no one in their wildest dreams would have even imagined this, but it all looks like we were told to keep this secret for a reason- "Before she could continue, she saw Hinata timidly raise her hand in the air. Sakura expected this, since she learnt recently that Hinata was in love with Naruto, having witnessed her injuries after trying to save Naruto from Pain. Sakura felt a little dejected, but shook it off almost immediately afterwards, which caused her to wonder why she even felt that way in the first place. Recollecting herself, she continued, "What is it, Hinata?" Hinata lowered her hand and said, "Uuum, is it true, Sakura-San? That, Naruto-kun got captured by the Akatsuki?" At this point, even Izumo and Kotetsu, who were almost drifting into sleep again, got startled into waking up again. They bore shocked expressions on their faces, but decided not to say anything, but instead listen on till the end of the conversation. Sakura replied immediately," At the moment that's the most acceptable answer. Tsunade-sama had the ANBU Search the whole area around the fire nation for any sign of Naruto, but there was nothing found. Not even a clue. There is also the idea of him having been kidnapped by rogue ninja, but it seems highly unlikely, since Naruto doesn't exactly have a bounty on his head, so I don't see any reason for the kidnap. Therefore, Tsunade-sama thinks that the only group that looks likely to kidnap Naruto is most likely the Akatsuki," Sakura concluded.

Hinata looked as if she was ready to burst into tears, and Neji looked at her solemnly. _"What are you crying for; I'm the one who wants to cry here."_ Sakura told herself inwardly. However, Kiba tapped Hinata on the shoulder and reassured her, "Don't worry, Hinata. That idiot won't go down that easily. He's so stupid that he's probably forget to die if he was killed," he finished in a hearty tone. The rest of the group laughed a little at this, and Sakura could swear she saw Hinata managing a laugh despite her teary eyes. The mood lightened a little and at this point Shikamaru spoke up, surprising everyone, "Kiba is probably right. Even if the Akatsuki have indeed captured Naruto, they still don't have the 8 tails, considering the information we have. So they won't probably extract the 9 tails immediately, meaning we have some time before they perform the sealing ritual. So we best hurry up in saving that hyperactive idiot." Everyone nodded at this statement and Sakura proceeded, "Well you've all heard it from Shikamaru, so I probably don't have to add any other remarks. Our mission this time is to go rescue Naruto from the Akatsuki, so it will probably be a similar mission as the one to rescue Gaara that we had a while back ( Neji nodded to himself), but the danger level will probably be the same. We definitely MUST succeed, since I really don't want to know how stuff will be around here without him!" She smiled to herself a little at this, and before she could continue with her speech, Kakashi appeared, Guy-Sensei closely following behind him, although he was doing this with his hands on the ground and his feet upward. Accompanying Guy were Tenten and Lee, who to no one's surprise, wore sulky expressions.

"Nice speech, Sakura," Kakashi remarked, causing Sakura to beam. "Now, as Sakura said, our mission is to rescue Naruto. However, we will not be doing this all together," Ino and Hinata looked at each other surprised, and Kakashi continued, "as far as we've confirmed, there are two Akatsuki hideouts. One is in the border between Sunagakure and Takigakure, and the other one is between Amegakure and Otogakure. The team which has me, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba will go check out the first hideout, while-"at this point Guy intervened, having stood up from his previous exercise, "the second team, which has me, Hinata, Shino and Ino, will go and check out the second hideout. Whichever team manages to encounter the Akatsuki will have to engage them in combat until backup from the other team arrives." There were horror-stricken looks around all the rookies faces, they having experienced the strength of that group when their leader destroyed their village effortlessly a few weeks past. However, at this point Shino spoke up, startling everyone, who almost forgot that he was even there, "There's no need to worry. That's because, the Akatsuki has lost most of its members at this point in time. Therefore, things won't exactly be as hard as they were in the past. I'm sure we will succeed. And this time, I'm with you guys, therefore your chances of success are increased, since I wasn't left out like last time," he concluded. Kiba and Hinata sweat dropped a little, and Kiba silently asked Shino, "You're still sulking about that, man?" Causing Shino to throw a death glare at him, subsequently causing all the people there to burst out in laughter.

Neji, however, spoke up, "Kakashi-sensei, wouldn't it be better if we had more people on board. I didn't hear Tenten and Lee being mentioned in your battle plan just now. Wouldn't it be better to include them?" Tenten and Lee nodded vigorously at this point, and Lee muttered under his breath, "That's right! Good job, Neji!" giving him a thumbs-up sign, which Neji shrugged to. Kakashi then answered,

_ Flashback_

Kakashi knocked at Tsunade's office early that morning, and entered after hearing her allow him to come in. Tsunade looked up from her desk and asked him, "What is it, Kakashi?" Shizune, who was standing next to Tsunade with bags of sleep under her eyes, looked up at Kakashi. Kakashi registered that she had probably woken up earlier than usual that day, and was surprised to find that Tsunade was not feeling sleepy herself. Looking at her desk he saw several cups of coffee, and he assumed that she couldn't find any sleep due to the situation at hand. He then spoke up, "Tsunade-sama, I informed the Team 2 members about the mission. However, there's something bothering me about all this. If this mission is of grave importance like this, why weren't the ANBU sent? I mean, it would only be logical to send them in such a task, plus why not have all our chuunin go on this mission. It certainly increases our chances of success." After he finished his statement, Tsunade looked at him a little, then replied, "The village is in a state of reconstruction right now, Kakashi. I can't afford to send all our troops. What if the village is attacked in that time when you guys are away? So I decided to have the ANBU remain behind so as to protect the civilians who have no idea what is going on yet. Plus, imagine a scenario like this; I do decide to send the ANBU on this mission. Then let's say, they are defeated by the Akatsuki and their identities are revealed in the fight. Then the village will be at risk of losing all its secrets to the Akatsuki, meaning if they do decide to attack us next time, they'll be more prepared than the time with Pain, putting us at risk of destruction on a wider scale. Also," she paused a little, before continuing, "As to the reason I didn't send the remaining chuunin on this mission, namely Tenten, Lee and Akimichi Chouji on this mission, is because I believe it is better to send the more skilled shinobi from each team to a mission of this caliber. Now, I'm not saying that the three in question are weak; however, I feel their services won't be of help in this mission, so they are staying behind in the village, for the time being. However, if something does come up, I may decide to send them as back-up later on. So hold your breath and see what happens," she finished her sentence with a smirk on her face. Kakashi opened his mouth in protest as if to say something, but after a few seconds, decided against it, closing his eye and smiling at the Hokage. Even Shizune, who looked as though she would be anywhere but there at that moment, managed to smile, but the look on her face made it more horrific than it was supposed to be.

_End of flashback_

Kakashi finished narrating the events of all that happened in the Fifth's office,and at the end of his explanation, he looked around at the faces of the Konoha 11, as though expecting some form of reaction from them. Seeing none, he was about to continue speaking, but Tenten spoke instead, "Well, seems like there's nothing we can do about that decision guys. As much as I'd like to go on this mission with you guys, looks like we are stuck on guard duty here in the village. Just do me one favour, will you?" Neji perked up his ear to listen to what Tenten was going to suggest. "Make sure you save that knucklehead for my sake too. If you don't manage to I won't forgive any of you. I'll all give you hell if you come back without him. Yes even you, Neji." Neji was a bit startled but smiled back at Tenten a little, "Yeah, don't worry we'll definitely bring him back. That's the promise between all of us. Neji outstretched his hand to the middle of the group, and at first they wondered what he was doing, before Kiba placed his hand on top of his, followed by Sai, then Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru(grumbling how troublesome it was to do such a thing) and lastly was Sakura, who placed her hand with such force that it almost caused the whole formation to break. Kakashi and Guy stared at the whole process while telling themselves how much their students had grown up.

When the circle was broken, Chouji appeared walking towards the group, carrying a bag of chips which he was eating from. Once he reached them, he said, "Then, you're all leaving?" They all stared at him and nodded, and Shikamaru spoke, "Sorry about this, man." Before he could proceed however, Chouji held up a hand to silence him, "Don't feel sorry for me, Shikamaru. I wished I could have come, but I know that the people all chosen here have better abilities than me for this mission, so it can't be helped. I wish you all success in your mission." Ino beamed up at him and looked almost ready to give him a hug, "Thanks Chouji!" Sai even appreciated Chouji's remarks, "Thanks, fatso." Chouji almost leaped at Sai's neck, and it took the efforts of Ino and Shikamaru to save Sai, who had broken into a nervous sweat, hiding behind Sakura and asking what he did wrong.

"Yosh! Now that everything has been resolved, I think it's about time we all left. Everyone, check that all your equipment is okay and you have all prepared yourselves fully. We'll leave immediately you're all ready." Kakasi called out. Sakura took out her medical pouch and after confirming everything she needed was okay, she immediately said to herself, "Just hold on Naruto. I'm definitely coming to rescue you. All those times you saved me and I never even managed to thank you properly. This time I promise I'll rescue you. I'll bring you back and once you're back, we'll be together again like we've been all this time. I never realized I'd miss you this terribly when you were gone. Heh, I guess it feels natural being with you, huh Naruto?" (Unknown to her, Hinata, who was just a few steps away from her, was having almost similar thoughts) .After steadying herself and preparing to leave together with the others, Chouji called out to them again, "Wait guys." They all looked round at him and he pulled out a small bag from his clothes, "Each of you has one of this before you leave. I'm sure they'll help to replenish your energy and fighting spirit. Here, Shikamaru, pass them around to everyone." Shikamaru took the bag from Chouji and after having what Sakura recognized as a soldier pill, he passed the bag around to the rest of the group, who each after having one, thanked Chouji. When the bag went back to Chouji, now empty, he nodded at the group as if to send them off, and they all left, waving goodbye to Chouji, Tenten and Lee, who stood at the entrance cheerfully waving them goodbye.

Izumo and Kotetsu, who by now were wide awake, stared at the retreating forms of the shinobi who were now in the distant, and silently muttered, "Good luck to all of you. May the Will of Fire protect you all."

_Hokage's office_

Tsunade stood at the window to her office, staring out at the village. She then thought to herself that they had probably left by now, and smiled a little, before saying to herself, "They've all grown into splendid people, huh Jiraiya?"

_End_

**A/N:** Well, there's chapter 7 guys. It's a bit shorter than the previous chapter and I honestly apologize for that since I had promised that I would be making each chapter longer than its preceding one, but in this chapter I wanted to capture each of the Konoha 11 in person, since from now on it will be amazing battles, so there won't be any time for any sentimental moments. I hope I did a good job with this one. Thanks for all the people who have bothered reading my story. It means a lot. Good night to you all;)


	8. Face-off

**A/N:** Here's chapter 8 guys. I'm going to have a lot of time writing this since I've just completed my round one of my end of semester exams, so prepare to have a really good time reading this chapter. Here goes.

**Disclaimer****: **I do not own Naruto. It strictly belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and as much as it's my best anime and manga ever, the ending was complete crap.

_Face-off_

The two teams proceeded along the dusty road leading outside the village, with no one saying anything for almost a whole five minutes. The village was a long distance away in the horizon by now, and one could only make out the gate if they squinted their eyes. It was a different case if you had the Byakugan, like Hyuuga Neji and his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata, but the two of them didn't want to look back to the village; since they knew that there were more pressing matters at hand. Neji looked at his cousin who was among the people at the front of the group, and thought about saying something to cheer her up. He knew how much Hinata admired and loved Naruto, but he didn't think anything he said at the moment would really change anything. He then looked at Sakura, who he noticed was a bit ahead of Hinata and just behind Guy and Kakashi. Neji smirked a little and thought to herself, "Hinata-sama, it looks like Sakura is more determined to rescue Naruto more than you. If you don't take care she'll steal him away from you." After this statement however, Neji became puzzled. Sure he assumed that Sakura would want to save Naruto the most out of everyone there since she was on his team and all, but wasn't her determination a bit more than camaraderie? He then thought about his thoughts earlier, saying that Sakura would steal Naruto away from Hinata, and suddenly thought that if that was indeed the case. He then moved closer to Sakura, and she looked appaled by Neji's sudden arrival next to her. "There's something that's been bothering me for a while Sakura," Neji started. "Hmm, what is it Neji-san?" Sakura asked him. "You know you can drop the suffix. I don't think that formalities should still stick after all this time. We've been friends for a long time now, haven't we? Neji told her. Sakura brought her hand up to her mouth and chuckled a little. "You're right. But I think you should be telling a certain blonde-haired shinobi that. He's been calling me "Sakura-chan "since I can remember. I told him that he can just call me Sakura when he came back, but he stubbornly refused, saying, "I like Sakura-chan better. It sounds more affectionate." Sakura then told him briskly, "Suit yourself then, don't expect me to start calling you "Naruto-kun." Naruto then flashed her his foxy grin, "Sure thing, Sakura-chan! But I'm not dropping Sakura-chan anytime soon. " Sakura proceeded to punch him playfully before muttering under her breath, "Baka." Sakura smiled to herself a little after this little reminiscence and looked at Neji, before asking, "Sorry, I got nostalgic a bit there. What did you want to tell me?" Neji, who was looking at Sakura's facial expressions when she had stayed silent, then thought to himself, "Could it be…." Then suddenly asked Sakura, "Sakura, are you…..?"

"Before he could finish his statement, however, Kiba suddenly complained, "How, in Kami's sake, are there no trees for this long a stretch after the village? You'd think it would be called the "Village Hidden in the Leaves" because there were plenty of trees in the area! Akamaru and me want to stretch our legs a little by swinging around in the trees a little." Everyone in the group laughed, even Neji( which surprised Sakura a little, since she had thought Neji to be the type that never managed as much as a smile) Shino then replied, "It's simple. The reason is because most of the trees in the surrounding areas were cut down in order to provide wood to reconstruct the village." Ino then nodded and said, "Kiba, you're just as dumb as Naruto. I thought he would be the only one capable of asking such a question." Lee, who was holding his sides from laughing too much, "That's right! I think that guy wouldn't even know that the village was being reconstructed because of sleeping in and taking too much ramen." After the clear change in atmosphere brought about by Kiba's ridiculous remark, the group proceeded further, then Neji asked Sakura, in a voice louder than he initially intended, "Sakura, are you in love with Naruto?"

Everyone in the group suddenly froze, except for Gai and Kakashi, even though they clearly heard the question. Hinata looked as if someone had hit her across the face with something hard, and Lee actually collapsed from the shock of the query. Ino smirked a little and thought to herself, "About damn time someone asked her. I've been meaning to know since she hugged him." Shino said nothing but he threw a concerned glare at Hinata, who seemed to be in a daze. Kiba had his mouth wide open and suddenly shouted,"Neji! Why would you ask something bizarre like that at such a time? Don't you think you should have waited till we got back in the village to ask her? And less, in private?!" Neji paid no heed to Kiba's remarks but continued to look at Sakura with that deep stare he always had. "I just wondered why she was so determined to save Naruto in this mission more than anyone else here. So I decided to ask. Is it a problem if I do?" He asked, now shifting his glare to Kiba. Kiba opened his mouth and looked as if he was about to say something in return, but then closed his mouth again. Lee, getting up from the ground, then spoke up, "Sakura-san! Is it true? Are you really in love with Naruto-kun now?" Sakura looked at Lee then back at Neji before saying, "Of course not. I'm only interested in saving Naruto as a teammate and a friend. Who would be in love with that idiot anyway?" Hinata then spoke up, "I would." Everyone stared at Hinata, even Kakashi, whose one eye was opened wide in surprise. Sakura looked at Hinata, and felt a familiar pang arise in her. The same pang she felt when she discovered that Hinata loved Naruto after she jumped in to save him from Pain. _"Yeah, of course she would." _She told herself internally.

"I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Of course you love him. I was just…..oh never mind. The point is, I don't love Naruto that way. I see him as a friend and nothing more." She replied to Neji. _"Is that really the truth?" "Of course it is."_ Sakura replied to her inner voice. _"Then why did you feel hurt just now when Hinata admitted that she loves Naruto." "That was just…. "Jealousy?" "NOO! Of course not, I was just sad because someone cares about Naruto more than I thought I did." "So you wanted to be the one who cares for him the most? Wow how noble of you Sakura!" "Well, you know, that was just….!" _ However Sakura did not even find an answer to that last remark, before Shino spoke up, "There's no need to worry. Sakura has loved Sasuke this whole time, and since Hinata confessed to Naruto recently, I see those two getting together soon." Hinata smiled at Shino before thinking silently, _"Thanks, Shino-kun." _Kiba then spoke up, "That's right. Naruto belongs to Hinata now." Team 8 nodded and Lee nodded amongst them, while Ino looked at Sakura serenely and then looked at Shikamaru, who was beside her lounged on the ground (he took the chance when the group stopped to get some rest), who muttered that the whole issue was "Troublesome." Neji was not smiling and Sakura, faking a smile which Sai seemed to notice, said, "Of course. I only love Sasuke-kun and Hinata loves Naruto." Sai was also not smiling. _"Yeah right." "What do you mean yeah right?" "I mean just that. If you "love" Sasuke-kun that much why did you fake that smile just now? "I didn't- "Oh, shut up you." _

"Suddenly, Kakashi, who had not said anything since the group had left the village, stopped and Gai did the same thing next to him. The group of chuunin behind them stopped, albeit surprised as to why the two jounin in front of them had stopped. Kakashi then said, "Neji, use your Byakugan to look ahead of us and see if there is a split road ahead." Neji nodded, then activated his Byakugan, and after around two seconds, replied, "Kakashi-sensei, there's a road that splits into two forks just 200m away from here in the direction of 12'oclock. "Kakashi then nodded and looked at the group of eager chuunin behind him, before speaking up, "Listen up guys. I'm afraid this is where we are going to part ways. "No one said anything, and Kakashi, taking this as a sign of approval to continue, proceeded, "The team that has the members assigned under Sakura will go right at the next fork with me and the team that has the members under Gai will go left at the next fork. So if you have any goodbyes to tell anyone, you'd better say them now." The members looked at each other, and as if waiting for a signal, Neji walked to where Hinata was standing, and embraced her, before whispering in her ear, "Take care of yourself , Hinata-sama." Hinata, smiling warmly and embracing her cousin back, "You too, Neji nii-san." Ino let out a slight "Aaaaaw" at the heart-warming scene in front of her, and Lee and Gai were now embracing each other with tears running down their faces, "OH, HOW BEAUTIFUL YOUTH IS!" Shikamaru muttered something that sounded like "Be careful" to Ino, who caught him in a tight bear hug, causing him to complain about how suffocating that was. Lee, who had got out of his hug with Gai, dashed to where Sakura was, and looked ready to receive an embrace,. Sakura however, stretched out her hand and shook Lee's hand, who now bore a dejected look on his face. Hinata went to Kiba and wished him good luck, while Kiba grinned at her, saying, "I'll definitely bring him back with me, Hinata!" Hinata beamed at Kiba, and then went back to her original spot, where Kakashi and Guy were waiting.

After both teams had gathered around their jounin-senseis, Gai and Kakashi looked at each other, Guy holding out a thumbs-up to him, and Kakashi nodding, and within a flash both teams had dispersed.

_Akatsuki hideout_

Sasuke was brooding in his lair, when he suddenly twitched. He stood up and tried to rediscover the feeling that had made him twitch not less than a second. "Could it be? No, it couldn't be." It was the chakra signatures he knew oh so well from his time in the village two years ago. He could still remember them, although faintly, as they had changed in quality quite a bit. He tried to sense it again, and felt it clearly. There were 7 chakra signatures that were approaching the hideout, and they were getting closer by the second. He got out of his brooding position and decided to go tell Madara about what he had sensed. No sooner had he left his lair, than a blur of red hair and a weight was suddenly on him. He struggled to gain his balance for a second, and then asked, "Karin. Get off." Karin, now showing her face from above the red hair which Sasuke had seen first replied in a sleazy voice, "Sasuke –kun. I've been waiting for you to get out of you room so I could have some time spent alone with you now." Sasuke rolled his eyes a little, and not understanding what Karin really meant, replied, "Not now, Karin. I need to go report to Madara. I've sensed 7 chakra signatures heading here and I think it's my former comrades from Konoha." Karin, who was still latching onto Sasuke, suddenly said in a more serious tone, "Don't worry. I sensed them already a while ago."

Sasuke looked at the girl below him in bewilderment, and thought to himself, "As expected of her. Her sensory skills are indeed extraordinary." He then said, "You should have gone to report then you know." Karin shook her head and then spoke again, in that sleazy tone from earlier, "Now that wouldn't have been any fun, would it? I wanted you to get the credit for reporting the intruders." "Yeah, right. You were too focused on Sasuke's chakra that you forgot to report the intruders," Suigetsu spoke up, having appeared from a puddle that lay a few feet away from Sasuke's feet. Karin rushed to Suigetsu and tried to punch him, but he turned back into water and she ended up punching into the air. "Serves you right. Haha…" he laughed from within the walls of the cave. Karin cursed, "Suigetsu-TEME!" Sasuke then asked Karin, "Where's Jugo?" Karin, who was still fuming from Suigetsu's earlier taunt, looked at Sasuke then replied, "He's sleeping in his room. He wanted to have a good rest today, and said that he was going to wake up if he was needed." Sasuke then proceeded to walk towards where he knew Madara was, and spotted him sitting atop a rock that was protruding from the ground. He made to move towards him, but Madara raised his hand.

"I know what you've come here for. I've sensed it too, so you don't have to report anything," he told Sasuke in that deep hollow voice. Sasuke then proceeded to ask impatiently, "Now that you've sensed them, what will you do?" Madara laughed a little then said, "Nothing. Just stay where you are and act as if everything is normal. Changing behaviours just because of a little danger will only cause us to fail. And in any case, The Hidden Leaf Ninjas who have been sent here to rescue Naruto are only chuunin level, with only two jounin among them. I don't see how they'll manage to rescue their Jinchuuriki. They will all die here." Sasuke looked at Madara and then replied, "You're probably right." He then proceeded to head back to his lair, and Madara looked up, "Looks like things are about to get interesting."

Sasuke had reached the entrance to his lair, when he stopped just before its entrance, and stood for a bit. He then decided to head deeper into the cave, and after a while, had reached the furthest point in. He looked at the body that was tied between chakra chains there, and then walked towards it in a slower manner. After reaching where Naruto was, he bent a little and looked at Naruto, before speaking up, "Your friends are on the way here, Naruto. I didn't expect them to catch on so soon though. Seems like Konoha is smarter than I give it credit for, huh? But no matter. Since they will all perish here at the hands of the Akatsuki." He stared into Naruto's sleeping face, and after a while rose from the ground and decided to go back. However, he stopped a few feet away from Naruto and looked behind at him, swearing that he had heard something like "Sakura-chan" coming from behind him. He went back to where Naruto was and after looking to ensure that he was still unconscious, left the place.

_Kakashi's group_

The group of seven continued to move within the vicinity of the trees (Kiba had actually let out a sound of excitement when they finally found a forested area), and Sakura was still in conflict about what Neji said earlier. As much as she tried to ignore the inner voice that still resounded within her after she denied that she was in love with Naruto, she found out that she couldn't shake it off completely. She snapped herself back to reality and told herself to focus on the mission, and thank God Kiba alerted them that he could smell there was something up ahead within the presence of the trees. Sakura tightened her gloves and thought to herself, "Just wait for me, Naruto. I'll definitely rescue you." Kakashi then stopped in the trees and the others stopped, and sure ahead, they saw a cave. Sakura's spirits heightened since she knew that they were now closer to rescuing Naruto than ever, and she heard the others getting their gear ready for a second time behind her. They were about to head off into a decisive battle, and Kakashi said, "Looks like we drew the short end of the stick, Gai."

_End_

**A/N: **Finally done. After three hours and non-stop typing, chapter 8 is done. THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS AND FAVOURITES. NARUSAKU WILL LIVE ON IN MY HEART FOREVER. Please read and review.


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